With ZF Friedrichshafen's planned acquisition of TRW Automotive on full blast, another German supplier is bound to benefit from the transaction, albeit unexpectedly. Bosch recently announced plans to gain full control of its 50-50 steering joint venture with ZF.

That came after Bosch’s partner disclosed intentions to sell its stake in the joint venture – which build electronic steering systems critical to development of driverless cars – to the largest supplier in the world and purchase TRW for $105.60 a share. ZF has to let go of its holdings in the joint venture, ZF Lenksysteme, to avoid antitrust issues in the acquisition of TRW.

ZF doesn’t have to worry about losing a place in the steering segment since TRW also has a steering systems business largely involved in developing technology that could pave way for autonomous driving. ZF will have to pay TRW around $12.4 billion in cold cash, based on equity value.

ZF Friedrichshafen is aiming to become the second-largest parts supplier in the world, but that target is being put on hold by negotiations to exit a joint venture with Robert Bosch, people privy with the matter told Bloomberg. ZF is seeking to sell its stake in the joint venture before it could complete an agreement to acquire TRW Automotive Holdings.

Breaking down the partnership, however, is complex and several key parties are away for summer holidays, the sources said. ZF wants to close the deal with TRW in the first half of September, the people told Bloomberg. ZF and TRW have discussed a sale at a price of around $105 to $110 per share, although the final amount is still under negotiations.

In July, ZF and its advisers at Citigroup Inc. and other banks had been exploring a proposal that values TRW at between $110 and $112.50 per share, two people told Bloomberg last month.

As the Dieselgate scandal continues its run, German carmaker Volkswagen AG and supplier Robert Bosch GmbH each reached a settlement agreement with owners of VW, Audi and Porsche diesel-powered vehicles found to be cheating emissions tests. The agreement, once approved, would entail a payment of at least $1.6 billion to accommodate specific actions – repair, buy back or compensation – meant to settle the companies’ differences with affected customers.

VW’s settlement agreement covers around 78,000 VW, Audi and Porsche vehicles powered by the group’s 3.0-liter TDI V6 diesel engine. This agreement became necessary because of the so-called Dieselgate scandal, which is basically a scheme implemented by VW to sell around 590,000 diesel-powered vehicles in the US – from model years 2009 to 2016 -- by making it seem that these units were cleaner than they actually were. Regulators have found out that VW employed a defeat device that helps these vehicles cheat on emissions tests.

Under the 3.0-liter TDI settlement program, Volkswagen would pay up to $1.2 billion in benefits assuming that 100 percent of affected customers take part; all eligible Generation 1 vehicles are bought back; and Generation 2 vehicles are fixed with an Emissions Compliant Repair to bring them to same emissions standards as they were certified.

Wolf-Henning Scheider has resigned from Robert Bosch to join engine parts maker Mahle. He was chief of Bosch's automotive division. Bosch is now grouping all automotive activities grouped under the new mobility solutions business sector, and has assigned Rolf Bulander to take over Scheider’s role.

Bulander will also be in charge of Bosch’s diesel systems, gasoline systems, and starter motors and generators divisions as well as for the electrical drives division. Dirk Hoheisel, meanwhile, will take charge of Bosch’s automotive steering business as well as the chassis systems control, car multimedia, and automotive electronics divisions.

Assuming Scheider’s sales and marketing roles will be Markus Heyn, who was most recently president of the Bosch diesel systems unit. He will also be in charge of the automotive aftermarket division and the ETAS and Bosch Engineering subsidiaries.

By 2025, fuel-cell technology will be less costly due to greater economies of scale and will be commercially viable for mass use in vehicles, according to Wolf-Henning Scheider, head of Bosch's automotive division. Fuel cell vehicles still have to gain acceptance due to prohibitive development costs despite their capability to travel five times longer distance than electric cars and take less time to refuel.

Scheider remarked that fuel cell vehicles are a viable alternative to other zero-emission vehicle technologies. He quipped that while fuel-cell powertrains might still be twice as costly to build than those found in electric cars in 2025, the higher operating range of fuel-cell cars would make them a viable alternative.

Carmakers developing fuel cell vehicles include Daimler, Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda and General Motors are all developing fuel-cell vehicles. Toyota and Honda have plans to commence sales of fuel-cell vehicles next year.

ZF Friedrichshafen would consider another acquisition – particularly for its industrial and trucking businesses -- after agreeing to acquire TRW Automotive Holdings for $13.5 billion. This was disclosed by ZF chief executive Stefan Sommer, who said that another acquisition the size of TRW is unlikely.

He and TRW CEO John Plant have remarked that carmakers moving to global platforms and are looking for suppliers having the technology and the ability to provide it wherever needed. Suppliers are feeling the pressure to develop advanced components from carmakers who are actively seeking for safety features and driverless vehicles that respond wireless road data.

Plant remarked there is a “big burden” on supplier to engineer technology needed for autonomous and connected cars. He noted that a middle-sized company cannot afford to achieve such feat, but only a select few could in the future.

ZF Friedrichshafen has inked an agreement to acquire TRW Automotive Holdings for $105.60 per share, paving way for the creation of second-largest auto supplier in the world. The companies have a pro forma combined revenue of around EUR30 billion ($41 billion) and 138,000 employees. Under the terms of the agreement, ZF will acquire TRW for around $12.4 billion in an all-cash transaction.

TRW said in a press release that ZF would purchase all of its outstanding shares in an agreement worth $13.5 billion on an enterprise value basis. ZF is offering to acquire the share at a price higher than TRW’s closing price on July 9. The price is also almost eightfold of TRW's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the year ended June 2014.

The agreement is expected to be finalized by the first quarter of 2015. It should also first receive a go-signal from TRW’s shareholders at a special meeting. TRW said in a statement that the combined company will be well-positioned to take advantage of on “favorable megatrends” in the auto industry by bringing together complementary product offerings and leading technology positions.

ZF Friedrichshafen is resuming discussions to exit its joint venture with Robert Bosch, a move that if successful would allow it to successfully acquire TRW Automotive Holdings, people privy with the matter told Bloomberg. The parties plan to resume talks this week following a short break due to summer holidays.

ZF wants to divest its 50-percent stake in the steering-systems venture to Bosch to avoid antitrust problems since TRW boasts of a significant presence in steering systems, people privy with the matter said. The sources said if Bosch agrees with ZF, a deal to acquire TRW could come as early as next week. ZF and Bosch established the joint venture in 1999, which now boasts of around $5.5 billion in annual sales.

Both ZF and TRW have agreed on the broad outline of a merger, one of the sources told Bloomberg. The parties have talked about a price of between $105 and $110 per share, although the final figure is still under negotiations.

The supervisory board of ZF Friedrichshafen has given a go-signal to discussions to acquire TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. two people privy with the matter told Bloomberg. The board has allowed the company to continue negotiations with TRW, with target to strike an agreement over the next few weeks, the sources said, with one of them adding that no final decision has been reached and discussions could still break down.

ZF recently confirmed that it is holding talks with TRW over an acquisition, which if successful would pave way to the creation of the second-largest auto-parts supplier in the world in terms of sales.

Reuters has reported that ZF could offer up to $12 billion for TRW, which has a market value of $11.3 billion. Reuters also reported that ZF is lining up $13.4 billion in financing for the acquisition.

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. reported $199 million or $1.68 per diluted share in net earnings in the first quarter of 2014 (GAAP), compared to $162 million or $1.29 per diluted share in the same period in 2013. Excluding special items, TRW logged a 20-percent rise in earnings to $215 million, or $1.81 per diluted share, from $1.51 per diluted share in the prior year period.

In terms of revenues, the company posted a 5-percent boost to $4.4 billion. John C. Plant, chairman and chief executive, remarked that the company was off to a strong start this year, thanks to increasing global demand for TRW's safety technologies, particularly in China where sales surged 16 percent year-on-year. He also cited hiked vehicle production in each of TRW’s major regions.

The higher level of sales was also driven by the positive impact of currency movements between the two quarterly periods. However, currency-related gains were partially offset by the negative effects of exiting certain businesses within its North American brake component and assembly operations.

Robert Bosch GmbH is expecting its sales to grow between 3 and 5 percent this year, even as it shifts its focus onto Asian markets and developing Internet-connected sensors. Bosch intends to penetrate into a thriving market for Internet-enabled devices and systems that allows autonomous driving.

Bosch Chairman Volkmar Denner remarked that they would continue with their traditional business while opening up new fields, allowing them to benefit from their broad technological and industrial expertise.

The company said that the focus shift toward more sophisticated vehicles should lead to a 25-percent surge in ultrasound sensor output this year to 50 million devices, and a doubling of radar and video sensors production to more than 2 million units.

The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation into the likelihood that around 50 EV chargers made by Robert Bosch LLC may overheat and result in a fire. The investigation came after a driver of a 2013 Nissan Leaf reported smoke emissions while the vehicle was charging.

Bosch spokeswoman Cheryl Kilborn stated that the German supplier was reviewing the filing and would cooperate with the investigation as it tries to determine the cause of the matter. On the other hand, Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman told Reuters in an e-mail that the Japanese carmaker was aware of the investigation and would assist in it as needed.

According to NHTSA and the consumer complaint filed in August 2013, the charger in issue -- a Bosch Power Xpress 240V -- had been charging for over an hour at 30 amps at a private home when indications of overheating, including a "strong burning smell," were noticed.

Robert Bosch would commence producing an automatic parking system in 2015 for an anonymous customer. Dirk Hoheisel, a management board member at member, disclosed last week at the SAE International's World Congress that fully autonomous vehicles are expected in the next decade.

Bosch's parking assist maneuvers a vehicle into or out of tight parking spaces, even if no one is driving it. The driver just can get out of the vehicle and commence the parking maneuver through a smartphone or key fob. To stop the maneuver, the driver just needs to take his finger off the button.

Bosch’s parking assist also works wonders during parallel parking. Hoheisel told Automotive News that automated parking is the next logical step for autonomous vehicles. He remarked that the system employs ultrasonic sensors and cameras to track the vehicles movements.

Robert Bosch posted a 3-percent surge in revenues in 2013 to EUR46.4 billion, supported mainly by a 7-percent rise in revenues at its automotive unit to EUR30.7 billion ($41.7 billion). The surge in the division’s revenues was attributed to strong demand for gasoline direct-injection and diesel-injection system, Bosch said in a statement based on preliminary figures.

According to a spokesman, the unit posted an 8-percent margin in earnings before interest and taxes margin of 8 percent, up from 4.5 percent in 2012. Bosch’s 2013 revenue was hit by a EUR1.5 billion burden attributable to foreign exchange fluctuations. In April 2013, Bosch said it expected an overall sales growth of up to 4 percent.

Excluding an extraordinary EUR1.3 billion charge for losses on its solar business, Bosch's overall EBIT margin in 2013 would have been 6 percent, according to preliminary figures. Bosch will disclose its 2013 full-year earnings on April 30, 2014. Bosch officials have said that they don’t expect significant charges this year.

TRW Automotive Holdings is opening this year a new airbag sewing site in Roman, Romania, as it tries to meet its anticipated growth in demand for airbag cushions in the next five years. "By 2018, we expect that an additional 12 million sewn bags will be needed,” Frank Mueller, TRW vice president and general manager for global occupant safety systems, said in a statement.

“The new facility will support our airbag plants across Europe," Mueller added. The Roman site is expected to have 400 employees by the end of 2014 and up to 1,000 workers by 2017. The Roman site underscores growing interest in Romania from both suppliers and carmakers.

TRW opened a steering-wheel leather wrapping plant at Timisoara in 2004 and a similar plant in Baia Mare in January 2012. TRW also operates sites in Oravita, Lupeni and Marghita, where its operations cover die casting, foaming and airbag production. Lear Corp. is also opening a new seating plant in Iasi this month, which will be home to around 1,500 workers.

Robert Bosch GmbH has developed a self-parking system for vehicles that a driver can activate remotely through a smartphone. This self-parking system uses ultra-sonic sensors and video cameras to park the vehicle and will go into production this year, according to Tim Frasier, regional president of Bosch Automotive Electronics North America.

He said that the self-parking system represents the next logical step for the development of driverless vehicles. A driver just needs to pull up the vehicle to an open space in a lot, activate the parking function and step out. Once outside, the driver has to activate an app on his smart phone to complete the parking maneuver.

He said that the system will work in any parking and will be especially useful in tight European garages. Its next-generation version -- dubbed valet parking -- will enable a driver to step out of the vehicle at the entrance to the parking lot then let the unit find its own parking space. The driver would also be able to retrieve the vehicle by remotely starting it up with his smartphone.

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has fined the local units of Denso Corp., Continental AG and Bosch around KRW114.6 billion ($107.99 million) for their role in fixing prices of components sold to Hyundai Motor Co. The fine comes as their counterparts in the United States, Europe and Japan continue their crackdown on price collusion among auto parts makers.

The covered parts include those for air-conditioning systems, seat belts, windshield wipers, radiators, power window motors and power steering. The Fair Trade Commission remarked that the units of Denso, Continental and Bosch had rigged prices of instrument panels and wipers sold to Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors. Affected vehicles include Hyundai's Sonata, Elantra and Kia's Pride and Carnival.

Denso, a South Korean unit, and a Continental unit were found involved in price-fixing of instrument panels from January 2008 to March 2012 that were installed on 11 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles. Denso and another Korean unit and that of Bosch were found to have colluded on the prices of wipers between August 2008 and February 2009.

Robert Bosch GmbH and GS Yuasa Corp. are targeting to sell a lithium ion battery by 2020. This battery reportedly cuts production costs by half and delivers twice the energy density of current batteries, according to Wolf-Henning Scheider, the management board director in charge of Bosch's global automotive business.

Scheider disclosed that the goal was to start to put the batteries on the market to supply what is forecasted by the German company as increasing demand for electrified vehicles. He remarked at the Tokyo Motor Show that they expect around 12 million cars electrified by 2020, compared to the forecasted 2 million EVs this year, according to LMC Automotive. Currently, the cost and limited performance of today’s lithium ion batteries are considered as obstacles to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and hybrids.

Lithium ion batteries are considered better than nickel-metal hydride ones since they are lighter and could hold more power. However, lithium ion batteries are more expensive and usually used in small city commuter EVs since they cannot store ample energy for regular long-distance travel. According to Scheider, sales targets for the venture have yet to be set, and it is too early to forecast the percentage of the projected 12 million units that Bosch will supply.

An ongoing row between and General Motors Co. and TRW Automotive Inc. may result to the termination of a $700-million brake component contract in Saginaw, Michigan, sources told Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News. In September, TRW said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it ended a brake component contract -- representing $700 million in revenue and 6.5 percent margins in 2012 -- with an undisclosed customer.

Although TRW declined to discuss the contract or identify the location of site involved, sources privy with the contract told Crain's Detroit Business that the supply deal is between TRW and GM. They added that the deal involves brake assemblies supplied from TRW's East Genesee Road site in Saginaw. Crain's TRW chief executive John Plant told investors in a conference call that pricing may have been issue in the terminated contract.

Plant said that TRW's customers have a view about the price point they feel they want to pay for certain components. He said that such pricing sometimes coincides and sometimes does not with TRW's price point. Plant quipped that they have to assess where their competitive situation is or where their position assets are at.

Robert Bosch GmbH is partnering with Mitsubishi Corp. and Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa International Ltd. to work on an auto lithium ion battery development project. The three companies are planning to create a joint venture that will conduct research and development as well as provide sales and marketing support to the three parent firms, Bosch said in a statement.

The batteries produced by the joint venture will be used to power vehicles like plug-in hybrids or electric cars. Bosch will own 50 percent of the joint venture, with Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa each holding a 25-percent stake.

The composition of the joint venture’s management and supervisory boards will reflect these stakes. The joint venture will commence operations early 2014 and will have its headquarters in Bosch hometown of Stuttgart in Germany.